Ladies and Gentlemen, we apologise that the 17:03 match report on Arsenal has been cancelled. We will instead be running a replacement rant on Mike Riley. This service will call at "Weak", "Easily-swayed", "In-awe-of-the-big-teams" and "Inconsistent" be arriving at it's destination of "Absolutely Useless".
We knew there'd be trouble when Mr Riley was handed this game. The man is absolutely diabolical. Still, ever the optimist, I was prepared to give him the benefit of the doubt and keep and open mind. It took about 45 seconds for him to give the first 50/50 to Arsenal, the first of millions, and the Riley-rollercoaster was off and running. He'd probably booked one of the City players in the tunnel already for having his laces untied or a crease in his shirt. The list of charges is endless. He booked Myhill early in the second half for time wasting, obviously coerced by Wenger's half time whining. He booked Dawson for daring to get tight against Walcott. He booked Manucho because he complained about being pushed around by galas and not getting one decision. He booked France for a debatable handball but didn't book either Van Persie or Walcott who he pulled up for the same offence. Arsenal's only yellow came when Halmosi's superb run from deep was crudely ended by a Gallas trip. Big deal, a blind monkey could've given that one. He failed to spot a criminal tackle on Anthony Gardner in stoppage time. I wonder if we'll see that one as many times as we same Diouf's challenge on Almunia on Saturday? Will Mr Wenger be recommending that his defender is banned for life? If Gardner is fit to line-up on Sunday, he'll be a very lucky chap. The biggest decisions came for Arsenal's goals. City, well on the rack since the half hour mark somehow withstood the second half barrage. It was difficult enough facing 11 Arse's, including the terrific Arshavin. We'd seen Gardner poke out a foot to block a goal bound Arshavin shot, Ricketts throw himself full length to also deny the Russian and Myhill push a free-kick around a post, a world class stop. Diaby headed wide from 6 yards and then headed against the crossbar. The pressure was building but we were holding on. Then that muppet and his idiot assistant stepped up to the plate.
For the first goal, Bentdner wriggled into the 6 yard box, Dawson got his body between man and ball and was pulled back by his shoulders. A clear foul. With their tails up, Arsenal put the pressure on and forced a corner. It was swung in from the left, Diaby won the header as Myhill flailed at the ball and Gallas headed in on the line. We were 100 yards away in the far corner but he looked offside. The big screens in the ground kindly cleared up any confusion by showing us three replays of the goal. Gallas wasn't offside, he was standing in a different county. An abysmal decision. It wasn't even difficult. There was a clump of players and then a big bloke in a red shirt with a number ten on his back standing 2 feet in front of everyone, including the goalkeeper. City are naïve though. Only Fagan runs to complain. Villa or Manchester United would have had 11 men around the linesman insisting he talk to the referee. There's no way the goal can stand. We leave feeling cheated. Losing is fine, especially when the opposition have forced as much pressure as they did but losing to one poor and one abysmal decision after working so hard is sickening.
City had played well despite making several changes. Turner and Cousin were rested completely, Mendy dropped to the bench, Kilbane was cup-tied and Ash went off at half time, hopefully for reasons other than injury. We started brightly, Geovanni and Manucho looked the business and we rattled them with every counter. Barmby volleyed us in front, via a deflection, after a quick throw and Dawson's ball into the box caught them unawares. Geovanni forced a terrific save from Fabianski, direct from the free-kick given for the aforementioned foul on Halmosi. Zayatte looped a header just over the bar and Barmby tapped in Dawson's shot from a short corner but was adjudged offside. No replays for that one, unfortunately and it was a long way away. As Arsenal turned the screw, our attacks became rarer and we failed to keep a hold on the ball when we got it. Manucho and Halmosi, who'd both enjoyed a terrific opening half hour, disappeared from the game. It was left to Geo and Fagan to carry the threat and our occasional breaks at high speed caused them problems, we just couldn't find a second goal. Geo almost did, hitting the side netting at 1-1 after beating the offside trap. He should've scored, I think, but he was slightly off balance.
Myhill had a mixed night. He made two incredible saves, caught the ball well at times and slowed the game down when he could. Unfortunately in the second half, he came for three punches, the first he barely connected with and it lead to a penalty shout when Diaby crumbled in the box (not particularly a sign of a foul in this team) and the others, including the second goal, and he got nowhere near them. He has to improve that decision making. He's not big enough to come through bodies so he's got to stay put and let Zayatte and Gardner deal. He didn't do enough on the night to replace Matt Duke. The rest of the defence were terrific. Dawson in particular had another great game against Walcott. Ricketts was excellent too. When they had the ball, Sagna and Gibbs pushed on to make it appear they had 4 wingers playing, so it was a tough night for the full-back's but they coped admirably, helped out by the hard working Halmosi and Fagan. Gardner and Zayatte looked comfortable together. Zayatte gave a tremendous performance, similar to man in the first half of the season. I can't imagine anyone would leave out Turner on Sunday, but it's equally hard to justify breaking up this back four.
Ash did a great job as usual and the midfield looked much more balanced for the inclusion of Barmby, who passed well, took up good positions in front of and to the side of Ash and opened up many more options in the middle of the pitch. We noticeably passed our way out of trouble far more often rather than whacking the ball clear each time. As Barmby tired, we reverted to type. It's a shame we can't have this Barmby with the engine he had 10 years ago. Fagan disappointed a couple of times with his decision making in good areas, particularly when he was doing keepie-uppies just outside our penalty area and Gibbs robbed him. Overall though, his work rate, his pace on the counter, his first touch and his desire to cover every bit of the pitch as humanly possible meant he had a great impact on the team. Halmosi did the same early on but faded as an attacking force, looking weaker on the ball in the second half and giving it up too easily. He continued to work hard going backwards. Hughes replaced Ash at half time and did a fine defensive job but didn't pass with any conviction. France and Mendy, also introduced, had no real effect on the game.
Manucho got a full 90 minutes under his belt, as they say, which will help him.He caused them a lot of trouble early on, forcing errors from Gallas and holding the ball up well. As the game went on, he became more isolated and dropped out of the game. He was too keen to gamble on Gallas erring again which would allow him in behind when we really needed him to play with his back to goal to relieve pressure. His partner, Geovanni showed his terrific punning ability again, picking the ball up deep and committing defenders and drawing fouls. He's a totally different player to last month, it's remarkable. Perhaps next year, we should let him hibernate through winter. For a long period in the second half, Geo was sucked into playing a lot deeper, almost in the midfield and we barely threatened as a result. When he pushed forward again, we started to create chances.
So, we're out of the cup but we can go with our heads held high. As a relatively young supporter, this was my first experience of a cup quarter final. I loved it; let's hope we can go one step further next time. One tip though, if you arrive at the game and the "match day magazine" says the referee is Mike Riley, do yourself a favour and turn around and go home. You are a disgrace Mr Riley. It's rare that you leave a ground and the general word from both sets of supporters is "That referee was awful". Congratulations, you horrid little man.
Ratings: Myhill 7, Ricketts 8, Dawson 9, Gardner 8, Zayatte 9, Fagan 8, Halmosi 6 (Mendy), Ashbee 7 (Hughes 7), Barmby 8 (France), Geovanni 8, Manucho 7.